During the Easter holidays, we were really fortunate to be invited back to Wicksteed Park to write another review. Arthur last year loved it and proved both mark and me wrong when he loved all the rides he was able to get on. A year later and slightly taller he now reaches above 90cm (just!) which means there are plenty of rides he can go on without needing an adult with him. Which was a relief, mark recently hurt his back which obviously means a lot of the rides were unsuitable for him and I am probably a lot bigger (in size) now than I was then. Last year was a bit of a squeeze and I really didn’t want the embarrassment of not being able to fit in. Thankfully that wasn’t the case, phew!
The weather was not on our side during the visit and early on during the day, it was really cold. I ended up having to root through the boot to find any spare hats, scarves and gloves which thankfully I found a couple. Poor Oliver and Arthur ended up having to share a pair of my gloves though as there just wasn’t enough!
Wicksteed Park
Our first stop when we got there was to Guest Services to collect our wristbands. The first thing we noticed was, there is a lot of building work happening! Wicksteed Park recently started a £4.5M project to rejuvenate the park. The work will restore the central Piazza and precinct which will provide an improve welcome to the park. The bungalows which used to house a few little shops is being restored and will be used for information centres, and the manufacture and sale of Wicksteed Ice Cream.
There will also be a brand new Heritage Play Area which will feature original or replica Wicksteed play equipment. The upper floor of the pavilion will become a new learning centre with views across the park from a restored veranda walkway. On top of all of that, there will also be changes to the activity programme Wicksteed Park currently provides and an annual Festival Of Play.
The Rides
Due to the weather, a few of the rides were closed much to the boy’s disappointment it included their favourite water ride too! In the end, I think it was only really a handful of rides that they went on. But, because of the weather the park was pretty much empty, we didn’t have to queue on anything at all! and more often than not the boys decided to just stay on the rides.
After Lunch
One of the things we didn’t get to do last time we came was the walk of the grounds. There is an Arboretum (mature wooded area with lots of exotic trees) and the Motte and Bailey. We were really hoping to get to see it this time but due to weather and the small flooding throughout some of the outer areas of the park, we couldn’t make it. It will have to go on our to-do list for next time!
We went back onto the Train, which was something the boys loved last year. It was really lovely to see the park and those that were there enjoying themselves. No matter who we saw, pretty much everyone smiled and waved and it was such a lovely ride.
Our day was pretty much spent with the boys laughing, smiling and having fun! which is pretty much the memories I want my boys to grow up with. I could write the same thing I wrote on our previous visit, Or you can watch our video.
Our Video
*We were given wristbands in return for an honest review*
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